1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an apparatus for simulating firearms, and more particularly, to a device for mounting on a firearm which utilizes a laser beam to simulate the firing of real ammunition.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various marksmanship training devices that simulate the firing of a firearm have been developed. These devices allow the owner of a firearm, such as a handgun or a rifle, to improve their shooting skills without the need for live ammunition. Certain devices, such as the one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,367,516, entitled "MARKSMANSHIP TRAINING DEVICE AND METHOD" by Jacob, require the disassembly of the firearm and replacement with temporary parts to form a device that fires a light beam upon activation of the trigger on the firearm. These devices are generally difficult to use and are limited to those persons who are familiar with the assembly and disassembly of firearms. In an alternative device, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,237,773, entitled "INTEGRAL LASER SIGHT, SWITCH FOR A GUN" by Claridge, a switch is mounted on the back of the gun handle so that it can be momentarily operated by the thumb of the trigger hand to emit a visible laser beam. However, this provides a poor simulation of real weapon operation, as manual operation of the switch requires the user to deviate from his or her normal grip of the firearm.
In yet another device, described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,938,262 entitled "LASER WEAPON SIMULATOR" by Dye, et al., a piezoelectric crystal mounted on the gun is used to sense shock waves produced by the firing of blank cartridges. In response to the generated shock waves, the piezoelectric crystal oscillates to provide electrical energy to a laser diode, which emits an infrared output pulse. The infrared output pulse, which is invisible to the human eye, strikes an infrared detector located on the target to indicate when a hit is scored. In a second embodiment of the device described in Dye, the piezoelectric crystal is mounted within the cartridge of the rifle such that pulling the trigger causes the hammer of the rifle to hit the piezoelectric crystal. This in turn causes the piezoelectric crystal to provide power to the laser diode for the emission of the infrared pulse. One disadvantage of the first embodiment disclosed in Dye is that costly blank cartridges are required. A disadvantage of the second embodiment of the Dye device is that it is difficult to mount a piezoelectric device into the cartridge of a firearm. The piezoelectric device must be mounted in a very specific location so that the hammer of the gun can make contact.
Another device, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,633,285, entitled "LASER MARKSMANSHIP TRAINER" by Sensney, detects the acoustical energy generated by the impact of the hammer striking the firing pin when the trigger on the firearm is pulled. In this device, a piezoelectric crystal is also used to sense the acoustical vibrations. The electrical signals generated by the piezoelectric crystal in response to the vibrations are passed through a filter to remove components of the signal that are not produced by the firing mechanism. Sensney discloses either a high pass filter or a bandpass filter to select the desired frequency corresponding to the frequency of the acoustical energy generated by the firing mechanism of a firearm. However, use of such a frequency discrimination device is difficult to implement, as the frequency of the acoustical energy generated by the firing mechanism of a gun shifts with changes in temperature. In addition, different firearms have different frequency characteristics, which would require that the simulation device be modified for different firearms.
Therefore, it is desired that a firearm simulation device be developed that is simple to use and that does not require modification to be used with different types of firearms.